A Family Adopted Three Children

Recently, a heartwarming article about adoption was published in US News and World Report. Shaun and Anna Lokey have three biological children; however, Shaun was also interested in adoption. Anna says in the article that she was not sure about the idea because of failed adoption in her family as a child. She was also ambivalent about her abilities as a mother.

Over the next few years, Shaun revisited the idea with his wife. In the article, he told her that parents do not have to be perfect. They just need to be loving and willing. It was enough to convince Anna. Not only did they adopt a child from China, but they also adopted two more. There were some adjustments; however, the family of eight are flourishing, reports the article. The Lokeys are strong advocates of adoption, whether domestic or overseas.

The article shared that China is still the top country from where Americans adopt children. Some countries, such as Russia, have tightened their regulations on foreign adoptions. Meanwhile, the article mentions that domestic adoption is still going strong in the United States. In a current article from AdoptUsKids.org, adoptive father Bob Cole describes his life as “blessed” with his experience of over 40 years.

One of the reasons that this article touched home for me is that our two boys are adopted. Even though we got them as older children, they could not be any closer to our hearts than if we gave birth to them. Like the Lokeys, we certainly had our reservations at first. However, we could not have children of our own and desperately wanted to be parents.

We always say that we needed our boys as much as they needed us. Has life been a bowl of cherries? Of course not! There have been some obstacles that we had to overcome as a family. Children who come from the foster system are often so broken, it takes a lot of time, therapy, and love for them to heal. We are happy to say that we are another adoption success story like this article.